The Wake
by mwendyr
Summary: Mike had expected to be the fall guy, turned out it was someone else. Sequel to After Life, Before Death. C2 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Podie1 **- Although there isn't a direct new chapter for the previous story. This is it's continuation of sorts. Thank you for your kind words and WOW. I think the word 'phenomenal' stuck in my head for hours after that.

Summary: Mike had expected to be the fall guy. Turned out it was someone else.

Pairing: Mike/Alex.

Series: Sequel to After Life, Before Death and part of my M/A series.

Disclaimer: The show does not belong to me but these stories do. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Spoilers: To The Bone, On Fire & The Good.

Reviews: Yes, please. That's how I know how well I'm doing.

A/N: Italics are flashback scenes - both my own and scenes from the episode On Fire

**The Wake**

Fire. The burning sensation had to be mind crippling to the point of total insanity. The churches went down in flames but so did one man's career. But he did cause the fire to burn out before it completely burnt his whole life, to his credibility.

It had happened without warning, without any kind of clue. Just seemed to begin and the stress it caused was evident from moment one, although he'd never show it.

When in a moment of panic and uncertainty one does tend to feel like they are on fire, rushing around in blind panic, trying to cause the flames to die out but they won't until you stop panicking, stop running and think clearly for a small moment and allow your brain to take over and remind you how to extinquish flames.

_"Find out and quick. Tomorrow I'm gonna be tied up over at IAB." Deakins said, mostly looking at Alex but also keeping an eye on the map that was pinned to the board showing the location of the churches that had been burned down in one night. _

_As Deakins walked away, Alex asked, "Whose turn in the barrel?" _

_"Mine." He replied, only turning to face Alex and Bobby when he reached the door of the interview room. "It's the Logan shooting." He explained as he saw their worried faces, "First patrolman on the scene got bumped up to the Steet Drug Task Force. IAB thinks it's a reward for keeping his mouth shut." _

_"A reward from you?" Alex asked, incredulously. Bobby stayed next to her as he thought it over in his mind. _

_"Head of the taskforce claims I called him and they have an email they say came from me." He replied, not showing any anger over the subject. "Somebody's idea of a joke. Just get that off my desk, fast huh?" He opened the door and left them before receiving an answer. Alex looked at Bobby and she could tell he was just as concerned as her. _

Mike had been told about what was happening by Alex, the moment he had he began to feel guilty. She'd attempted to tell him it wasn't his fault but Mike wasn't the kind of guy that would listen to reason. He was still struggling with his guilt from the shooting and the effect of Chesley Watkins was still strong in his mind, that was something that not even Alex could help him with. She knew he had to deal with it on his own but it was starting to eat at her a little.

She might not have been able to directly help Mike but she wanted to be able to help Deakins, she wasn't sure if it was passing the need from one to the other but she wasn't going to ignore it. Maybe she could help put out at least one fire.

_Looking at Bobby, across from her desk, the email from the taskforce in his hands. "The email from the taskforce? All that staring you find anything?" Alex asked, whilst they worked late again and not for the first time either. _

_"Yeah, I've been comparing the header to emails I've gotten from the Captain. Doesn't match any of them except-" Bobby passed her the paper, "-for one. Captain sent me that one six weeks ago." _

_"Six weeks ago our server was down-" Alex noted, recognising the time frame, "-for three days because of a virus, we had to use a different one."_

_"Whoever forged the taskforce email copied the header of an email the Captain sent during those three days." Bobby theorised, after a moments thought. _

_"We just have to figure who he sent emails to." Alex said, turning to look at Deakins' office, an idea forming inside her head. "He's gone for the day." Bobby looked at his office as Alex spoke, "His computer might be lonely." _

The moment they found out about Frank Adair, and what he was doing from inside prison, they had taken this information straight to Deakins but he hadn't acted the way Alex had thought he would. Maybe he acted better, certainly better than what she thought she would do with that kind of information.

Instead of taking that information and using it to clear his name with a full apology, Deakins just allowed the plan to succeed because of who he was inside, because he refused to allow the flames to make him go into that blind panic.

_"So this Frank Adair is what? An old buddy?" Mike asked Alex, as they sat together at Mike's apartment, as Mike took a swig of bud and Alex held back the sudden urge to pull the bottle away from his mouth. _

_"I guess you can call him that." Alex replied, dryly. She could tell what Mike was thinking and she guessed it probably involved violence against Frank Adair and she was thankful the man was in jail so that Mike couldn't get anywhere near him. She knew what Deakins meant to Mike, although he'd never say it, he'd never admit that Deakins was responsible for giving him his second chance. Mike muttered something incoherent. _

_It didn't matter what it was, it was irrelevant, "So what's being done about it?" Mike asked, looking for a way to help. _

_Alex shrugged, "I don't know. The Captain told us to drop it." _

_Mike shook his head for a moment, in thought and then looked at her, "Where is he?" _

_"Adair?" Alex asked, without waiting for a response, suddenly grasping onto his train of thought. "Prison, and no, you can't see him." _

Mike walked into the Major Case Squadroom, late at night, dressed reasonably in smart clothes, freshly showered and a small smile on his face as he spotted Captain Deakins in his office, putting items in his boxes, getting ready to leave for good. Mike walked over to the office, stood at the open door and knocked his fist into the frame two times to make his presence known. "Hey, uh, can I come in?" Mike asked as Deakins turned to see who was there.

Deakins smiled at nodded, "Sure, it's not my office anymore, you can come in as much as you want." Mike could tell he was trying to be lighthearted about the situation.

Mike offered a small smile, "Listen, uh, if you're ready to change your mind, you know I'll go to bat for you. Hey, I'll even beat the crap out of Adair for you."

Deakins shook his head to stop Mike from talking, "I appreciate what you're doing, Mike, but don't get yourself into trouble over me."

"Captain, seriously, why are you letting him get away with this?" Mike asked, he'd never understand it.

"Weren't you there for my goodbye speech, Mike?" Deakins asked, knowing full well that Mike had been there when Deakins had walked into the squadroom to announce his retirement and offer his explanation as to why he was. "And I'll bet you got more information of Alex, so you probably know more than most." Mike nodded, it was true, Alex had been feeding him all the information. "Don't blame yourself, Mike, you're a good cop. A great cop, and I don't want you thinking otherwise."

Mike stayed quiet for a moment and Deakins gave him a hard look, stubborn right to the end. "Alright." Mike spoke with a sigh, "Let's go."

"Go?" Deakins asked, looking at Mike strangely. "Go where?"

"Ah, that's for me to know and for you to... well, you get the idea. Let's go." Mike headed for the door and then shot Deakins a stubborn look to match the one given to him. "Now."

_Deakins closed his office door and spoke as he turned to face Alex and Bobby, "You're the first in the squad to know. I turned in my resignation today." Alex and Bobby shared a look of surprise and concern, "The email proves what it proves, I appreciate you looking into it."_

_Deakins looked at Alex as she spoke, "They why quit? Why give Frank Adair what he wants?" _

_"It's what I want." Deakins argued, softly, pointing to himself. "I worked it out so that Officer Martinez would be okay. I could fight it, demand a public exoneration but I'd just be letting Frank Adair use me to give the department a black eye." _

_"Well, you don't deserve this." Bobby reasoned, quietly. _

_Deakins shook his head, "Frank needs people to worship at his feet. I just need to know I'm right by the people who know me; my Detectives, my good Detectives." Deakins gave a small laugh as he realised just how sentimental he was starting to sound. It must be old age. There was a moment of quiet in the office. Bobby felt a new respect for him and Alex still wanted him to fight it but she saw how futile it would be to argue with him over it. "Uh, go on, get back to work." Deakins opened the door, "We'll hold the wake later, huh?" They walked out of his office and Deakins closed the door, momentarily watching the bull pen as everyone busied about their jobs, unaware of his decision. _

"Where are we going?" Deakins asked, as Mike drove his car and Deakins sat in the passenger seat. "And why do I feel like a kidnap victim?"

"The answer to your first question is a mystery and the second is simply because you are." Mike replied, in jest, a grin forming on his face. It had taken a few weeks but he was starting to at least feel like he could be back to normal soon. Mike owed it all to Alex and how she'd supported him, he'd never had that before and to have a support system now showed him what he had been missing all these years. Of course, he'd known in the back of his mind that other people had it easier than him but to actually see that for himself first hand was an eye opener.

"Well, it had better be somewhere good." Deakins told him, as he leaned back into the seat. Mike wasn't stupid, he knew that Deakins knew what was going on but it was still fun to yank his chain, it was going to be his last chance to do so as well.

The rest of the drive was in relative silence, the only sound in the car was the music softly playing in the background, on a low volume and Mike barely noticed it. Reaching their destination and Deakins looked at the building in front of them with confusion. It just looked like an average building, lights were on but for the most part he'd expected to be driven to a pub or a bar, somewhere where they could get completely drunk stupid and have a great time. "Mike, where the hell have you taken me?" Deakins asked, humor in his voice despite his confusion.

Mike chuckled slightly, "Let's go." They stepped out of the car and walked into the building only to meet the echoing sound of nothing; an eerie quiet air and a feeling of expectance seemed to pulse through Deakins, he recognised the signs, something was amiss; and he was going to be the victim of...

"SURPRISE!!!"

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TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**The Wake**

The lights came on, people appeared out of no-where and laughing could be heard from all angles as Deakins took a step back as the word 'surprise' shot around the room like the mexican wave. He recognised everyone, people from his squad, former colleagues, his family and his friends. Everyone he could possibly think of was there to bid him farewell and he truly felt loved. Angie Deakins walked over to him and planted a small, sweet kiss on his lips. "Surprise." she repeated and the smile that had been on his face seemed to grow. Turning to his side he saw Mike grinning at him.

"You planned this?" He asked Mike, unsure if that was actually true.

Mike shook his head, "No, not me. This isn't my kind of style." Mike walked away from him as other people went over to Deakins to say a few words. Mike walked over to Alex and put his arm around her waist. "Whose idea was this?"

Alex gave him a small smile and before she could answer Bobby and Carolyn walked over to them. "It was mine." Carolyn said, smiling.

"Yours?" Mike asked, as they walked over to the small bar in the function room to get a few drinks. He was very much aware of the fact that Alex's fingers were fiddling with his belt.

Carolyn nodded, "Yeah, well, our idea really." She said, pointing to Bobby. Mike looked around the room, it had turned out to be quite a nice place. A small function room that looked like a room a school choir would perform in to a small audience. It had a few decorations, notably a sign that said 'Goodbye Captain Deakins, Hello Retirement' on it. Full of colours and the room was dimly lit, but there were disco lights flashing around, all that was missing was the music.

"Good job." Mike said to them and they both nodded, offering a small yet mocking bow.

After a moments silence, Bobby said to Alex, "Eames, I thought you should know that I spoke to Lewis and he was asking about you again."

Alex for a moment wondered why she would need to know that, "What did you say?"

Bobby looked at Mike and then back at Alex, not having to turn his head at all because of the way they were standing so close to each other, "That you were with Logan now."

Alex's face softened a little, "Aww, you broke his heart Bobby."

"Who's Lewis?" Mike asked, suddenly having that feeling of jealousy in the pit of his stomach. Alex felt him grip her waist a little tighter, despite the fact she didn't like possessive men, she actually found that a little charming and very funny.

Bobby looked at the man and felt a little sorry for him, but not a lot, "Just a friend. Don't worry, he's not going to steal her away from you." That last sentence was spoken with a grin on his face as if he was yanking at Mike's chain.

Alex twisted her head to look at Mike, who looked at her as well, she was going to say something but it was lost as she started laughing at him instead. Mike shook his head and looked in the direction of Deakins, who was currently surrounded by a herd of cops, all wishing him well and patting him on the back in that manly style. "Sorry." Alex said, after her laughing had subsided a little, causing Mike to turn back to her.

"Oh, right, course you are." Mike replied, obviously not believing her.

Alex looked at Bobby and shook her head, "No, I'm not." Bobby smiled, happy to see that the two of them were having some fun again, it had been difficult to watch the stress mount up against them both.

_Bobby looked at Alex, sitting at his desk and trying to pretend that he wasn't paying attention to her but he knew that it wasn't working. Alex had an annoyed look on her face and the fact she was tired was evident on her features. Alex yawned and then noticed he was looking at her, "What?" she asked, irritated. _

_"I - uh - nothing." Bobby replied, stuttering as words failed him. _

_"Oh, so you were staring at me for no reason?" Alex shook her head and looked back at her work, trying to concentrate. _

_"Eames?" He watched as she looked back at him, expecting him to continue. "I - I know that this has been - been difficult for you with what happened t-to Logan so-" _

_Alex lifted her hand to stop him, "I don't want to talk about it." _

_"Eames-" _

_"No." She interrupted him again, indignantly. He opened his mouth and she shook her head again, "No." Bobby finally took the hint and promptly closed his mouth, keeping all of his words locked up but the concern he felt for her still came out in his facial expressions, there was no way for him to hide those. _

Sitting at a table, loud music in their ears and a few drinks down them, the four detectives were joined by Captain Deakins who had been passed around the room like a parcel. If only the music had stopped more often he might have had chance to breathe a little more. "I just wanted to thank you guys for doing this for me."

Carolyn and Bobby looked at each other and then back at Deakins, small and soft smiles on their faces. "Your welcome." Carolyn said, softly.

"Well, it's best to go out with a bang." Mike said, dryly and Deakins chuckled.

Alex suddenly stood up, making them all look at her, without warning she grabbed Mike's hand and pulled on his arm, "Come on, let's dance." Mike didn't have much of a choice, she pulled him with such force that he hadn't expected, that he followed her to the dance floor.

Bobby and Deakins laughed as they watched poor Mike being dragged to the dance floor and have no choice but to do as Alex said to him in that instant. But watching they noticed that Mike seemed to relax and actually did dance with her, not reluctant and it seemed he could actually dance as well. "Well, that's a shocker." Deakins said, turning to Bobby and Carolyn.

"I didn't know Mike could dance." Carolyn said, smiling.

Chuckling, Bobby said, "You know, Captain, you're actually responsible for that!"

Deakins looked surprised at Bobby, shaking his head, "Firstly, it's Jimmy and secondly, how is that?" Deakins turned back to the dance floor in time to see Mike twist Alex around in a twirl and then bring her back to him.

"Sorry." Bobby said, realising that Deakins was now retired, "They would never have - have gotten together if you hadn't pulled those strings to get Logan into Major Case."

Deakins looked confused for a moment more before realisation dawned on his face. Deakins chuckled, "Ah, so it's my fault." He turned back to Alex and Mike and smiled, maybe it was his fault but they'd done the whole thing themselves. It's not like he'd shoved them together. They did look good together and it had been a pleasant surprise for him when he'd discovered that the two of them were involved with each other, and it would be one of those happy memories he'd take with him.

Carolyn and Bobby nodded enthusiastically, "Yes." they said in unison.

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Mike applied some pressure to the small of her back as he held Alex close to him, swaying with the music. He would never have chosen to get up onto the dance floor with her but now that they were there he wasn't going to suggest they leave.

He wished he could take the events of the past few weeks away from them, and then not only would Deakins not be retiring but several men would be alive that aren't now including the cop he'd shot at the diner. "What are you thinking?" Alex asked, looking into his eyes and noticing his far away look.

Mike shrugged, "Nothing." he told her, he then added with a grin, "You know me."

Alex shook her head at him, a small knowing smile on her lips, "I do know you and that's just not true. What are you thinking?" How could he tell her that without sounding like a complete idiot? Shrugging again, Mike sighed. "You're not still blaming yourself are you?" Mike looked at her and Alex knew she'd hit the nail on the head with that question. "Really, Mike, it's not your fault at all, and if you think it is then you're telling yourself you've got some powers that the rest of us don't have."

Mike looked at her shocked, "Hey-"

"Well, you _are_ saying that." She continued, they were still moving in the motion of a slow romantic dance. "Because unless you're Merlin there is no way for you to have known what was going to happen so stop it." Mike held her close for a moment, choosing not to speak as he thought about it again; and again. Mike had expected to be the one who'd been in trouble, he'd been surprised when he wasn't, even when he was cleared by IAB he expected some kind of back lash, not just from his colleagues but from the press. What he'd gotten instead was support and the press were barely speaking to him so he thought it was all over, until Captain Deakins got pulled into it instead. Which had then caused more upset for him when he'd felt the guilt hit him like an express train.

Smirking at her he said, "You have a way with words, you know that?"

Alex smiled, shrugging, "I've been told. It's a bit of a curse." Mike laughed and as the tempo of the music changed so did the speed of their dancing. Mike wanted to tell her that he couldn't have come through this without her but he wasn't used to doing that so he cupped her face and gave her a slow, passionate kiss that he hoped convey what he wanted to say. Her lips parted and she let him in and he took that as a yes, neither of them remembering quite where they are and not noticing how people were stopping for a moment to look at them as they did so. It didn't matter to them either way, it was like the room just melted away from around them and it was just the two of them, the past few weeks of arguments, emotion and stress just being released from them into that one kiss.

_Mike was flicking through the pages of a book when Alex walked into his living room. He quickly closed it and shoved it away from him and Alex looked at the book and then back at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "What's that?" she asked, curious and concerned by the way he'd moved it out of reach of himself and tried to cover it up. He looked at her and shook his head, telling her that he didn't want to talk about it._

_But Alex had had enough of that so she reached out for the book and opened it. Realisation hit as hard as a truck, she closed the book and looked at Mike. "This is your - your family album?" she asked, slowly. She hadn't known that he had one at all. Mike took it off her and threw it across the room, it hit the wall flat and they watched as it started to slide down the wall towards the floor, landing with a thud. _

_"It doesn't matter." Mike muttered, standing up. _

_Alex looked at him and she sighed, "Yes, it does. I can see that it does." _

_Mike turned to her, his face showing his anger, "No, it doesn't. Leave it." _

_"Mike?" Alex tried again but Mike shook his head in frustration and walked out of the room leaving her alone to worry about him and try not to angry at him about it; it wasn't his fault. _

Later they'd talked about it and without even telling her she'd realised that he was having flashbacks to his mother and he was making it worse by looking at pictures of her. Chesley Watkins had done quite a number on him, ironically in a similar fashion to the way Nicole Wallace seemed to affect Bobby Goren. Because of her need to help him she'd spent most of one day speaking to Carolyn about it and forcing it out of her.

When she'd got the information Alex had been unsure of how to handle it or how to use it to help him so she just spent time with him and eventually he opened up to her about what his mother had done and what Chesley Watkins had been doing and the strange similarities that were occuring between the two women.

But now, as Mike let go of her lips, he felt relief and joy as if the music was more infectious than it's supposed to be and as if a dead weight had been lifted off of him and he could finally breathe again. Hearing the sound of cheering and applause both Mike and Alex turned their heads sideways and saw Bobby, Carolyn, Angie and Deakins cheering at them. Mike chuckled and turned back to Alex, whispering, "I think they enjoyed the show." The twinkle of mischief was in his eyes as he spoke to her. Despite the embarrassment she should be feeling, Alex laughed. Tightening his arms around her, Mike refused to let go. Alex glanced in the direction of their partners and was relieved to see that they weren't watching them anymore.

He would be okay and so would she.

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"Do you know who we're getting?" Bobby asked Deakins as they stood outside of the building, bundled up as the night air began to bite at them a little.

Deakins shook his head, "No, not at all but, uh, try to go easy on him ... or her." He chuckled at the look on their faces. Alex laughed with Deakins at the attempted joke but it seemed that it was too late in the night for Bobby to quite get the joke. Bobby was more than concerned about how the new Captain would react to him and so that didn't feel so funny to him.

Carolyn shivered visibly and Alex nodded, "Okay, time to go." Alex said, giving Mike a gentle shove to the car. Carolyn smiled at her attempt to hint that they should leave because she was cold.

"Hey, I just wanted-" Deakins started but shook his head, "You already know."

Mike looked at him and then at the others. Giving Deakins a direct look, "Next you're gonna be saying goodbye. You know you can't get rid of us that easily."

Alex snorted, "No matter how much you try." Deakins nodded and gave them all a final look. Putting an arm around Angie, who had just walked over to them, he smiled and took those steps away from them, away from the squad, the final steps as he stepped down from being their commanding officer, from being in their everyday lives but he did know they were right, he would never be able to get rid of them, they'd always be there and he knew that if anything happened to any of them he'd be there in a heartbeat.

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_I hope this didn't disappoint. Let me know what you think. _


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